


Swim This Way

by jynx



Series: The Sea Siren [8]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Mermaid Kíli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 23:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6680872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jynx/pseuds/jynx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How about we go swimming?” Dis said with a clap of her hands. “You can show us how to properly swim with two legs!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swim This Way

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Fili and Kili centric - Mothers Day (not sure if Dwarves have an equivalent, make one up!)

Kili didn’t understand this human concept of “mothers.” Nori had tried to explain, having spent more time out of the water than Kili had—Nori was also a busybody and also took great delight in Kili’s torment and also needed a new hair-style and also…—but the explanation made less sense.

Why was the birther so important?

Kili knew that not all humans could birth new humans like the mer could, but humans also had more females. Why did they need a day to be worshipped? Shouldn’t they be treated carefully and with reverence all the time?

“No,” Kili said from the comfort of Fili’s bed. “Stay here. Sea soon."

“Yes, we will be at sea soon,” Fili said, hands on his hips. Gone was his red bandana and his comfy green pants and his salt-crusted boots. Instead he looked…clean. His hair was brushed back, the ropey hair carefully braided away so only smooth hair showed, like liquid gold. Tight blue pants and white stuff covered Fili’s legs with things on his feet that made him taller and he had on a blue coat and a white shirt. He looked Official.

Kili hated it.

He hated people who looked like Fili. They were mean and liked trying to auction off mers and mer parts. The ones who got off on causing pain and distress. They hunted his people on the high seas, killing them at will and for sport, leaving some of them to sink to the bottom of the ocean to be discovered by the pod days later.

“No,” Kili said again.

“This is important to me,” Fili said. “I want you to meet her."

“Change,” Kili ordered, burrowing back into the blankets. He wanted nothing to do with Fili when he dressed like this. Didn’t the ridiculous human know that? Kili made sure to never be near the one who dressed so…richly.

He could practically smell the richness. Taste the sweetness of blood. He wanted to rip and rend and destroy.

Fili was silent. “Why?” he asked, after a moment. He looked so confused.

A door flew open behind them and Kili, already so on edge, fell out of the bed on the other side, fingers sliding into claws, mouth baring his needle-sharp teeth.

“Fili,” a crisp voice said. “Where have you been? I’ve been—what on earth are you wearing?"

“Uncle and I were going through the village earlier,” Fili said. “He prefers when we look our place."

“For crying out… And where is your young mer?"

Two sounds of boots and Kili scrambled back, furious. Had he made a mistake? Was Fili like the others after all? Was he done playing with Kili and now going to chop him into pieces and sell him at the market? He’d fight, he would go down fighting—

A woman knelt down next to Kili and held out her hand. “I am Dis,” she said. “This fool’s mother."

Kili stared at her, eyes narrowed.

“Kili?” Fili asked.

“You did something to spook him,” Dis said, letting her hand fall to her lap.

“Change,” Kili growled at Fili.

Dis looked thoughtful. “You’ve dealt with humans before, haven’t you? And they haven’t been good dealings."

Fili disappeared from view and Kili could hear the sound of cloth rustling. Dis wait patiently while Kili examined her.

She did not dress richly. She dressed plain, simply, and looked as if she was used to work. Good. He liked those who worked. They knew what it meant to respect life, all life, even those from the Seas. She had on a brown shirt and a black work dress draped over that. Her hair was braided and bound away from her face in a blue bandana, and she had kind eyes.

Fili’s eyes.

Kili relaxed, his teeth sliding back into his mouth, fingers relaxing out of claws. He didn’t look quite so murderous now, though he could change that. He would hate to fight Fili but he would and he’d win.

Fili sat next to his mother on the ground, back in his simple white shirt and green homespun pants. He was barefoot. “What happened?"

Kili hesitated before relaxing. Fili looked harmless enough now. Who knew what the female was hiding in the skirts, though.

“I think,” Dis said, “that your mer has had bad experiences with rich men."

“Tasty,” Kili said, giving a tooth smile with the quickest flash of fang.

Fili arched an eyebrow.

“Poaching,” Dis explained.

Fili looked horrified.

“Tasty,” Kili repeated, this time in anger. He wanted to eat more of the rich men. He’d eat them all if he had to.

“Nothing like that!” Fili protested. “I swear on the Maker, Kili."

“Maybe,” Kili mumbled. “Birther?"

Dis grinned. “I raised him right, don’t you worry. I respect the Sea and Her creatures."

“She taught me how to sail,” Fili said. “Thorin’s the pirate but Ma taught me the ships."

“And how to swim,” Dis added.

Kili snickered. “Can’t swim. Flail too much."

“We have no tails,” Fili said, rolling his eyes.

“No tail,” Kili said mournfully. “Very sad. Need tail to swim."

“You can swim with legs just as easily as you can swim with a tail,” Fili said.

“No,” Kili said. “No tail, no swim."

Dis had her hand against her mouth and her body was shaking. Kili paused, tilting his head, and reached out to poke her in the shoulder. She rocked back a little, a giggle escaping from behind her hand, and sat hard on her rump. Fili sighed loudly and Kili poked Dis again.

“Birther has hole in sail,” Kili said solemnly. “Should fix."

Fili’s lips twitched.

“You have hole in sail,” Kili muttered, crossing his arms.

“How about we go swimming?” Dis said with a clap of her hands. “You can show us how to properly swim with two legs!"

Kili eyed her. Oh, this birther was shrewd. He liked her.


End file.
